| Active RFID tags, which can communicate over tens or even hundreds of meters, MEMS devices of several microns in size, which are designed for the medical and pharmaceutical purposes, and sensors working in wireless monitoring systems, require microscale power sources that are able to provide enough energy and to satisfy the peak power demands in those applications. Supercapacitors have not been an attractive candidate for micro-scale energy storage, since most nanoporous carbon electrode materials are not compatible with micro-fabrication techniques and have failed to meet the requirements of high volumetric energy density and small form factor for power supplies for integrated circuits or microelectronic devices or sensors. However, supercapacitors can provide high power density, because of fast charging/discharging, which can enable self-sustaining micro-modules when combined with energy-harvesting devices, such as solar cell, piezoelectric or thermoelectric micro-generators.;In this study, carbide-derived carbon (CDC) films were synthesized via vacuum decomposition of carbide substrates and gas etching of sputtered carbide thin films. This approach allowed manufacturing of porous carbon films on SiC and silicon substrates. CDC films were studied for micro-supercapacitor electrodes, and showed good double layer capacitance. Since the gas etching technique is compatible with conventional micro-device fabrication processes, it can be implemented to manufacture integrated on-chip supercapacitors on silicon wafers. |
